


A Sky Without Stars

by Creatortan



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: (thanks chara), Aged-Up Character(s), Agender Chara, Agender Frisk, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Awkward Chara, Chara's Pronouns are They/Them, Cuddling, Fluff, Frisk's Pronouns are They/Them, Gratuitous Swearing, Human AU, Mute Frisk, Other, bad cheese puns, chara is a tall string bean and frisk is a short chub theyre wonderful, self loathing thoughts, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-10-28 11:19:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10830204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Creatortan/pseuds/Creatortan
Summary: Chara is a no-good wanderer torturing themselves by sticking around the place they should've left long ago. On a whim they wander out to buy a nice, hot cup of tea. Turns out not many places are open at 11PM during a storm. But lucky Chara finds Miss Muffet's coffeeshop--miraculously open--and the cute, friendly worker who lets Chara take refuge.





	A Sky Without Stars

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this out over a full year ago! but i got stuck right in the middle XD eventually though i found it and finished it out. completely self indulgent and BASICALLY THE SAME PLOT AS MY SOCKATHAN FIC BLATHERSKITE ASDJKF,,,gotta love those coffeeshop aus

A cup of tea. All they wanted was a goddamned cup of herbal tea.

Chara pinched the bridge of their nose, breathing deeply, a snarl on their face. Their mud-soaked converse squelched uncomfortably, the ooze dripping between their toes. The wind slapped their dripping hair across their face haphazardly, as if it couldn’t get even more tangled at this point. Their eyes were squinting partially because of their grimace and partially because of the wind and raindrops, which were still really cold by the way. There’s only so much a thin cotton sweater could do in this weather. 

Finally,  _ finally,  _ they found someplace open at 11PM. They’d only glanced at the name of the place for a second before throwing themselves inside. 

_ Miss Muffet’s  _ seemed to be a very classy, well kept cafe, decorated in deep purples, maroons, and blacks, with white lace scattered about in a way that reminded Chara of cobwebs. Chara only felt a little bad for making such a big puddle on the deep mahogany wood floor. Muffled thunderclaps from outside, however, took away that small smidge of guilt. 

The cafe was completely empty, and gave Chara pause on whether the place was actually open. The lights were on, and the door wasn’t locked. Chara pushed their hair out of their face, picking off leaves and other storm debris from the tangles. Their eyes darted around awkwardly, mouth opening slightly as they hesitated on announcing their presence. 

“Uh...hello?” Their voice wasn’t very loud, so they weren’t so surprised at the lack of an answer. They tried again. “Hello? Anyone here?” 

They heard a door opening from the back of the cafe, and the sound of clicking shoes along the hardwood floor. A person looked out from behind the front counter, mouth forming a surprised ‘o’ at the sight of Chara. Chara waved timidly, a shaky smile on their face. The new person smiled back.

The new person quickly rushed back into the kitchen, their heels clicking rapidly. Chara pulled at their soggy collar, finally deciding to take the water-logged sweater off. They’d just tugged the sweater over their head when they heard the distinct tapping of heels on mahogany. Chara felt their face redden as they scrambled to take the sweater off, wriggling around with the dripping material. After what felt like way too long, Chara had finally taken the stupid sweater off, leaving them in their black tank-top. They expected the other person to be either cringing from secondhand embarrassment or laughing their ass off. 

Even without the ridiculous flailing, Chara still considered themselves an embarrassment due to their lackluster physical appearance. Their limbs were too long and graceless, they were thin and bony like a corpse, their skin was overly pale but got splotchy red whenever they were even the slightest bit embarrassed. The bags under their eyes were dark and heavy and don’t even get them started on their rat’s nest hair. It was bad before, but the 3AM my-life-is-spiraling-out-of-control self haircut didn’t help things at all, and now their hair was uneven and choppy and Chara was just too uncomfortable to let anyone else touch it. They felt their shame deep and hot in their gut. 

Chara clutched at the sweater, face still warm, before looking up slowly. The other person’s eyes were diverted, and the towel in their hands was raised to cover their face. Chara blinked, coughing awkwardly. Not the reaction they were expecting. Chara shifted their sweater in their hands, before letting it drop to the floor at their feet with a wet plop. They cringed. Well, at least it might start to sop up that puddle? Wishful thinking, since it was already soaked. Chara wasn’t good at optimism.

The person stepped forward, the towel held in front of them. Their face was turned to the side, cheeks puffed in a pout. It was pretty cute.

Chara quickly took the offered towel before their thoughts could get away from them any further. They tried to pat-down their body and clothes before sighing at the futile effort. With a shrug, they hunched over towel over their head, tying their hair up into the towel-turban thing to dry. They stood up straight once more. 

The other person slowly signed out  _ “Hello, my name is Frisk.”  _

Chara replied, hesitantly signing their words along with their voice. “I’m Chara. Sorry about the mess; thanks for the towel.” Chara’s hands fumbled for a bit, a little slow in certain pauses as they tried to remember what exactly to do; they hadn’t signed in years. They glanced up at Frisk nervously, eyes catching on the shiny nametag pinned to their vest. “Frisk”, and in smaller letters, “they/them”.

Frisk smiled widely, signing back,  _ “There’s no need to sign back; it’s just my voice, that’s all. You’re welcome about the towel.”  _

Chara didn’t really know how to continue the conversation, so they kind of fidgeted with their hands, rubbing at their locket, habitually checking their phone even though they knew it was dead. They felt their face heat up again as the silence grew. 

Frisk was the one to, well, not really break the silence, but they were the one to stop Chara’s “standing in the doorway looking like a drenched possum” thing. Frisk waved to get Chara’s attention.

_ “Do you want anything warm to drink? Any food?”  _ Frisk took a step forward,  _ “Here, come sit down.” _ They gently took Chara’s wrist in their hand and walked towards one of the cafe armchairs. 

“H-hey, uh, wait--are you s-sure this is okay?” Chara sputtered, trying not to focus on how warm Frisk’s hand was around their own chilled skin. “I mean, I don’t want to ruin the seats or anything.”

Frisk smiled reassuringly, moving Chara into the seat.

_ “It’s fine; Miss. Muffet was planning on replacing these chairs anyway.”  _ Frisk turned to the couch across from Chara. They lifted one of the lacy throw pillows to reveal the giant hole in the arm of the couch. 

A laugh bubbled in Chara’s chest; they tried to muffle the sound, but it instead came out as an obnoxious snort. Chara’s eyes widened and they brought their hands to their face. The feeling of their blush only made them blush even harder, like some sort of screwed up cycle of embarrassment. Chara vaguely wondered how red their face could get before they passed out.

A quiet, raspy wheezing sound caught their attention. Chara raised their head, curious. Frisk had pulled up the collar of their sweater over their mouth, muffling their giggles. Chara’s shame took a backseat as their main focus was on just how adorable Frisk was. Their dark eyes crinkled, bushy eyebrows furrowed, and their round cheeks were slightly squished under their hands. Not to mention the way hid in their collar reminded Chara of a turtle, or a gerbil; whichever was cuter. 

Frisk calmed down, tugging their collar back down. They looked at Chara apologetically. 

_ “Sorry, I wasn’t laughing at you, friend.”  _ They signed, a sheepish look on their face,  _ “It was, well, I didn’t notice you had freckles before.”  _

Chara blinked owlishly, hands rising to their face. They coughed awkwardly, face heating up once again. Chara had a feeling they would be blushing a lot. Their hands moved to their lap, nervously wringing at one another. Chara spluttered under Frisk’s soft, shy expression.

“W-well I mean, it’s not that impressive, I guess. I mean, well, I’ve got f-freckles all over, yanno, haha.” Chara rubbed at their arms, unconsciously drawing attention to the freckles there. 

Frisk giggled again, and Chara felt their heart jump. 

“Y-you have a really pretty smile.” The words were out of Chara’s mouth before they even knew what they were saying. Their face burned and they let out an undignified squeak once they’d process what they’d said.

“I-uh, shit, I mean, sorry, I’m an idiot, fuck,” Chara stammered out an unintelligible string of curses and apologies, hands waving in front of them wildly, as if they could swat the words out of the air.

Frisk’s face lit up, however. They looked as if Chara’s compliment had made their entire day. 

_ “Thanks.”  _ They signed, their grin turned playful.  _ “And if we’re exchanging compliments, might I just say I love your freckles?”  _ Frisk leaned over the sofa with a cheeky grin. 

“E-eh? But why? I mean, they’re just freckles; it’s not like they’re special or anything…” Though they were denying the praise, Chara still couldn’t keep their small smile off of their face. 

_ “Well, you know what they say...A face without freckles is like a sky without stars.”  _ Frisk pointed two finger guns towards Chara, winking. 

Chara burst into laughter, loud chortles and ugly snorting and wheezes of desperate breathing. They gripped their sides, spurred on by the sound of Frisk’s raspy giggles.

“That...was so cheesy, you dork!” Chara snickered, trying to catch their breath.

_ “Speaking of cheese...My heart is like swiss without you--full of holes!”  _ Frisk dramatically placed their hands over their heart, spinning around to lean backwards over the back of the couch.

Chara had given up trying to muffle their laughter, especially as Frisk walked in front of them and fell to one knee.

_ “I don’t know what to fondue around you; you’re too gouda for me!”  _ Frisk turned away to hide their grin, pretending to wipe away imaginary tears.  _ “Please don’t leave me provALONE!” _

Soon the laughter trickled off. Frisk was still kneeling from where they’d fallen to their knee. They looked up at Chara with glittering dark eyes, their fluffy curls resting delicately around their face. Chara had a soft smile on their face--they’d smiled more often in this short time then they had in...months. Without thinking, they reached out to gently cup Frisk’s face, grin turning lopsided when Frisk turned to nuzzle into their palm. 

The soft moment was broken as thunder crashed outside. Frisk and Chara both jumped, flinching and yelping as the lights flickered. Chara pulled their hands to their chest, eyes wide and searching, their heart thumping erratically. 

Frisk stood, wiping imaginary dirt from off of their slacks and straightening out their apron. 

_ “Do you like hot cocoa? Tea? Coffee? I’m gonna go make us something before the power goes down.”  _ Frisk tilted their head in question. Chara blinked, owlishly, gears cranking in their head before they finally processed what was said. 

“Oh-- _ Oh!  _ Y-yeah, okay,” they stammered, “Some herbal tea would be nice. Do you have anything decaf? I’m good with whatever.” Chara’s eyes flitted to the ground. They felt the towel on their head start to teeter, and quickly scrambled to unravel it. 

Frisk nodded, and with a faux salute, they scampered off, heels clicking into the kitchen. Chara watched them go with a sigh as they draped the towel over their shoulders. They ran a hand through their damp hair, hissing as their fingers caught on some knots. When they pulled away they stared at their hand, hunched over it like some puzzling enigma. They ran their thumb over their fingertips, remembering the feel of Frisk’s skin and the brush of their hair against Chara’s knuckles. 

They leaned back, blowing all the air out of their mouth in a loud huff. Chara stared at the ceiling, lazily counting the tiles before their mind wandered again. God their life was a trainwreck. Getting into that fucking “accident”, losing their memory, somehow unintentionally running away from home only to show up years later and realize they ruined  _ everything.  _ Running again. Still running. Drifting from place to place but still somehow unable to stop hovering around where they want to escape from most. Purposefully catching glimpses of people they once knew like some kind of masochist. 

They wondered what Frisk would think if they heard about all the shit Chara had been through. 

They wondered if those scars on the sides of Frisk’s face--dragged down from their temple to under their turtleneck--had a similar, sad story. If Frisk would understand. If Frisk was some kind of kindred spirit. If stupid things like  _ fate  _ or  _ destiny _ decided to take pity on Chara for once. 

Chara pictured themselves with their hand on Frisk’s face again, saw themselves gently running their fingertips down those jagged scars as Frisk smiled sadly in a way that said  _ “We’re the same.”  _

“Fuck.” Chara buried their face in their hands. They’d just met the kid and already they were planning their life out with them. Nice going, Chara. This is why you have no friends. 

Frisk came back after...god Chara wasn’t paying attention. It was enough time for their hair to dry some more, leaving it a frizzy mess. Frisk was balancing some kind of bundle in their arms, their hands full with the cardboard to-go cups. Chara shot up from their seat to help, hands brushing against Frisk’s as they carefully took the hot drinks from their hands. 

Frisk plopped the bundle onto the coffee table with a satisfied, happy noise that sent a rush of some fluttery feeling through Chara.  _ Cute.  _ Frisk turned to Chara, their hair bouncing as they moved. 

_ “I hope you don’t mind, but I got you some clothes. Miss Muffet is letting me stay in the apartment upstairs so I can wash what you’re wearing, and you can take a shower if you want.” _

Chara nodded. They unthinkingly took a sip from one of the cups in their hand, before spluttering and hacking at the  _ very very bitter black coffee.  _ Frisk took the cup from their hand, fretting about them to make sure they were okay. 

_ “Sorry, that one’s mine,”  _ They looked concerned, sure, but Chara could see the glimmer of amusement in their eyes. They grinned as they took a drink from their coffee, and Chara blushed. 

With a quick “come on” gesture, Frisk confidently led Chara through the shop, bundle of clothing in one hand, coffee in the other. Chara cradled their cranberry tea in their palms, taking careful sips between steps, hoping the steam would hide their red face. 

In the back of the coffee shop there was a little employee's only door, with a spiral staircase in the corner. Frisk led Chara up this staircase and into a tiny, neat apartment. The walls were a faded blue, the furniture was all minimalist and black, but the worn edges gave away their age. The simplistic look didn’t seem to fit Frisk, and Chara guessed the furniture was already there. Frisk placed the bundle of clothing on the coffee table before turning to Chara--who was so entranced in watching Frisk’s bouncing, open movements they almost forgot to read what was being signed to them.  

_ “--first door on the left, if you actually want to shower. Feel free to raid the fridge if you want! I’m gonna go close up shop. It should only take a little while--fifteen minutes at the most. I’ll see you in a bit!” _

And in a flurry, Frisk was gone. Chara awkwardly wandered into the bathroom, taking up the offer, considering they had nothing else to do. The bathroom was just as small and tidy as the rest of the house. The counters were clean, save for a purple hairbrush and a handful of scattered, colorful hair elastics. They peeled off the rest of their damp clothes, leaving them in a wet pile on the floor. They turned the simple faucet handle, watching the chilled water as it splattered into the tub. Chara turned away from the shower, waiting for it to warm.

Alone, Chara stared at their body in the mirror. Their eyes traced the speckled scars over their abdomen. They watched their own hand trail over the longest one, about three centimeters in width, jagged from their right side, at the base of their ribs, all the way down to their left hipbone. Chara raised their gaze back to their face, finding their own eyes dull. Almost belatedly, Chara saw their freckles. So used to the splotty discoloration, so natural on their own body, Chara had basically forgotten about them. 

“A sky full of stars, huh?” Chara’s voice was quiet and husky. They caught themselves with a small, soft grin. They turned abruptly away from their reflection, not wanting to see their expression anymore. 

Chara was so intensely grateful for the warmth, a quiet, contented groan escaping them as they stood under the stream. Their shower was quick, mostly a way for them to rid themselves of the muggy, sticky feeling of the rain. Frisk’s bodywash smelled like lavender, and the brand matched the lotion on the counter and the shampoo on the tub’s rim. It looked expensive--probably a gift, Chara realized,  _ after  _ they had squirted some into their hand. They decided against washing their hair, as bad as the decision may have been.

Chara stepped out of the shower, refreshed. Frisk had provided a fresh towel with the clothes, and Chara used it for their body. Speaking of the clothes, Chara picked up an article. 

A black t-shirt, the faded pink branding denoting some kind of popstar Chara didn’t care to recognize, and some sweatpants with a string tie. Frisk may have been shorter, but they were bigger than stick-thin Chara, so the string-tie was appreciated. Chara played with the hem of the shirt after pulling it over their head. On them, it looked like a circus tent over a bald weasel. They figured it would be more fitted on Frisk. Chara tried not to imagine Frisk wearing the casual pajamas, how their chubby  and extremely cuddleable  body would better fill out the fabric. 

Despite tightening the pants, they still fell low on Chara’s hips, thankfully hidden by the baggy t-shirt. Chara picked up the abandoned towel for their hair, along with the rest of their clothes, not knowing what to do with them. 

They stalked back to the living room, noticing the bare walls. Chara thought Frisk would be the sentimental type--lots of pictures of all their family and friends on the walls. But then again, borrowed apartment. 

Chara stood in the middle of the room, glaring intently at the clothes in their hand, not knowing exactly what to do. At that very moment, Frisk came back. They grinned when they saw Chara. 

_ “Oh! You smell like lavender!”  _ Frisk signed when they came near. 

“Y-yeah! I, uh--you’d probably smell better though,” Chara mumbled out the first thing that came to mind as Frisk grabbed the laundry. Chara wanted to bury themselves alive-- _ god.  _ But thankfully, Frisk just giggled. Not at all looking offended or weirded out. 

_ “The remote is on the couch--you can turn on whatever. I’ll go wash these real quick.”  _ Frisk walked down the hall.

Chara sat down on the couch, hesitantly grabbing the remote. They flicked through channels, distractedly. Some cheesy rom-com was on when Frisk came back and plopped down right next to Chara. They had changed into a baggy t-shirt dress. It was short enough to expose the tops of their thighs when they pulled up their legs to sit criss-cross. Chara stubbornly kept their eyes on the TV--until Frisk gestured to get their attention. 

_ “Find anything good?”  _

“Oh, uh, not really,” Chara handed the remote to Frisk, “You can put on whatever; I don’t mind.” 

Frisk ended up finding a sci-fi movie marathon. It was a grab-bag mix of fantastic and hilariously awful. Chara was an avid sci-fi fan, and often lapsed into ramblings about the effects and backstory of the more classic movies. Frisk never minded, and, in fact, actively asked questions that Chara was glad to answer. 

Turned out Frisk was the type to  _ always  _ sympathize with the alien/monster/ghost in any way they could, even if the movie painted them as the “villains”. They often hid their face in Chara’s arm when anyone had to die. 

Sometime in the night snacks were brought out, as were blankets, and the lights were turned off. Somehow Frisk had ended up flush against Chara’s side, arms wrapped around theirs, blanket around both of their shoulders and an empty bowl of popcorn on the floor at their feet. 

Chara didn’t know what time either of them fell asleep, but Chara woke up cuddled against Frisk’s chest. They were a little delirious with sleep, and ended up nuzzling further into the soft warmth around them, only coming back to reality when said warmth started to giggle. Realization hit Chara like a brick. They froze, eyes still stubbornly shut. They could hear Frisk’s steady heartbeat, feel the movement of their breathing, the weight of their arms snugly against Chara’s small waist. Chara was curled up onto the couch, and they realized they were comfortably nestled between Frisk’s legs. 

They kept their eyes closed, unwilling to break the moment. They heard the TV, quiet in the background and Frisk started to quietly whistle along to a jaunty commercial jingle. Chara debated on whether they should get up or not, but the decision was made for them when a cellphone rang.. Frisk huffed, gently shaking Chara, who feigned awakening in response. Chara carefully shuffled off of Frisk, allowing them to get up and retrieve their phone from the kitchen. From the quiet tapping sounds, Chara assumed it was a text. 

Frisk came back into the room, a cute, scrunched up pout on their face. They stretched their arms up high, yawning. 

_ “What do you want for breakfast?”  _

“O-oh! I really shouldn’t, I mean, it’s not that I don’t  _ want  _ to--I’m pretty hungry--it’s just that I should really get going and everything and I don’t want to take advantage of you anymore than I have and stuff and I don’t know you probably have stuff to do and--”

Since Chara’s gaze was firmly on the wall to their right, they didn’t see how Frisk had marched right up to them, until Frisk’s hand was directly over their mouth, stopping them mid-ramble.

Chara’s eyes widened, their face heating up. Frisk pulled their hand back with a mischievous smile.

_ “We can talk  _ after  _ you get something to eat.” _

And with that, Chara sheepishly followed Frisk into the kitchen. 

At the time, Chara didn’t realize just how much that split second decision to wander out for tea would really affect their life, but  _ god  _ did stupid things like  _ destiny  _ or  _ fate  _ really throw Chara a bone in letting them meet Frisk.

**Author's Note:**

> Frisk lets Chara stick around the apartment. Chara hides out in Frisk's room when guests are over, but eventually meets Sans and Papyrus. They get along just fine with Papyrus, but Sans is overly suspicious and they often butt heads. Eventually Chara opens up about their past--leaving out names, of course--and Frisk finally persuades them to get some professional help. They were getting better until Sans mentioned Toriel. Chara melted down and ran. Frisk found them in an alleyway and held them until they stopped screaming. Afterwards, when the two were alone, they had a heart-to-heart. Frisk felt awful about the whole situation, but Chara couldn't deny that they handled it very poorly. Eventually, things get back on track. Frisk gets their own apartment with Chara, Chara still regularly visits their therapist, and after about a year of building romantic tension the two end up falling into one another. 
> 
> It takes a few more years before Chara is ready to see their old family, though, but they make it there eventually. 
> 
> (If anyone wants to know anymore detail abt the backstory of this au let me know!)


End file.
